cora grew up in Phandalin with her family. the family consists of nine other brothers and sisters (triplets, twins, quadriplets), all younger, and her two parents. one day, her father left home to find work because he could no longer provide for the family. before he left, he told his family that he is leaving to become an adventurer because they have better income and promised the family to write letters. after three months with no letters, cora became suspicious and started asking around phandalin if anyone heard news of her father, Freddo. however, no one had. cora understood her father is missing, and decided to go on an adventure to find him.
in order to find her father, she wrote a song about her father and played it in taverns and inns, hoping it would draw the attention of someone who knows her father. while playing the bag pipes, cora realized weird things would happen and slowly discovered her magical powers through the power of music (and also learned how to make hot chocolate). cora traveled through many places, and eventually reached meadheavan, where she met her new friends.